Hollande: EU, Russia Share Goal of Preserving Syria's Integrity

PARIS (Sputnik) — The European Union and Russia have a common goal in preserving Syria's integrity, French President Francois Hollande said Friday.

"I think that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin may have such a goal, we must ensure Syria's integrity," Hollande said.

"Syria consists of territories controlled by the regime [of Syrian President Bashar Assad] and a large area in chaos where, sooner or later, a so-called caliphate will emerge. It's the worst of situations and we cannot accept such a state," the French leader said.

Russia and Iran should be involved in the search of political settlement to the Syrian crisis, Hollande said.

"We talked about it with President [Vladimir] Putin. France recalled that a political solution is the goal and we need to find it, we must go back to the Geneva format, create circumstances so that the regime of [Syrian President] Bashar Assad and the opposition could reach a consensus," Hollande said following Normandy Four talks in Paris.

He added that "this political decision should be worked on in cooperation with Russia, the United States, Iran, Turkey, the countries of the Persian Gulf — in general, with all the countries, including the European ones, that are ready to take part in the search of a political solution."